A large amount of reports were received by OPD of tires slashed on vehicles between the late evening of Monday, 3/18/13, and early morning hours of Tuesday, 3/19/13.

On 3/19/13, the Ocala Police Department received multiple complaints of Criminal Mischief to vehicles. The crimes involved the puncturing/slashing of the tires on vehicles. There were no particular types of vehicles nor tires in these incidents; there were various types of cars damaged. Three businesses located in the Ocala Shopping Center, 1800 block of E. SR 40, had vehicles damaged, a private contractor had a front-end loader with a tire slashed, and multiple private citizens had their vehicle tires damaged.

In total, there were 32 victims with 35 cars and 74 tires punctured/slashed. Total value of the damage is approximately $12.799.00.

The Ocala Police Department is seeking assistance in identifying the suspect(s) in these crimes. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the person(s) who committed these crimes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Ocala Police Department at 352-369-7000 or Detective Mary Brewton at 352-629-8425. Anonymous tips can also be given by phoning Crime Stoppers of Marion County at 368-STOP(7867), texting tips to 274637 using keyword 368STOP, or by submitting at www.ocalacrimestoppers.com.